Here’s the History of the New Year’s ‘Twilight Zone’ Marathon Tradition

The annual New Year’s “Twilight Zone” marathon is as eagerly anticipated as the Times Square ball drop by fans of the 1950s show.

“The Twilight Zone” was created by Rod Serling, and has episodes ranging from fantasy and science fiction to suspense and psychological thriller genres. The episodes usually end with an unexpected twist and a moral.

According to Den of Geek, fans typically break down the 156 episodes into “good ones” and “bad ones.” Serling wrote 89 episodes, and Richard Matheson and Charles Beaumont wrote the rest.

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CBS News created a ranking of “The 10 Greatest ‘Twilight Zone’ Episodes.” They include “Eye of the Beholder,” “The Hitch-Hiker,” “The Invaders,” “It’s a Good Life,” “The Monsters are Due on Maple Street” and “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet.”

This year’s marathon starts on Dec. 31 at 4 a.m. and runs through Jan. 2. at the same time on Syfy. The 30-minute episodes allow fans to take a quick break if they don’t like one episode, and return for the next one.

When the New Year’s “Twilight Zone” marathon started, and which regional TV station started airing reruns first, is still a bit of a mystery.

“The first one we did was on Thanksgiving in 1980,” Los Angeles’ KTLA program director Mark Sonnenberg told the LA Times for a 1991 article. Alternative Media magazine covered the first Thanksgiving marathon, which was only eight hours long, in a 1981 cover story.

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KTLA also held a Fourth of July “Twilight Zone” marathon in 1983.

“It’s become a Southern California tradition, right up there with your other Fourth of July activities: barbecues, picnics and fireworks,” Sonnenberg said. “People can turn on their TV sets and do their different activities and check out the marathon.

Local New York station WPIX Channel 11 played “Twilight Zone” reruns in the early 1970s and started marathons around the same time. The channel could have been the first one to run the show on New Year’s Eve, but that has not been confirmed.

Although the event is highly anticipated every year, entire scenes of certain episodes have been deleted so commercials can also be aired during the marathon.

Serling commented on commercials in a 1959 interview, saying, “How in God’s name can you sustain a theatrical mood when every twelve minutes the thrust of the drama is stopped and onto the screen gallop twelve dancing rabbits with toilet paper?”

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Despite the burden of commercials being added to the episodes, Twitter users have echoed their excitement for the annual tradition.

I will not miss one single episode of New Year's Twilight Zone marathon on SyFy.

Erin Coates is a news and lifestyle editor for The Western Journal. A University of Oregon graduate, Erin has conducted research in data journalism and contributed to various publications as a writer and editor.

Erin Coates is a news and lifestyle editor for The Western Journal. She grew up in San Diego, California, proceeding to attend the University of Oregon and graduate with honors holding a degree in journalism. During her time in Oregon, Erin was an associate editor for Ethos Magazine and a freelance writer for Eugene Magazine. Erin conducted research in data journalism, which has been published in the book “Data Journalism: Past, Present and Future.” Erin is an avid runner with a heart for encouraging young girls and has served as a coach for the organization Girls on the Run. As a writer and editor, Erin strives to promote social dialogue and tell the story of those around her.